A recent briefing by health and human rights organizations, including Medact and Just Treatment, raises alarm over spy-technology firm Palantir’s involvement in the British National Health Service (NHS). For years, health workers and patients have been warning against the company gaining ground in healthcare through the introduction of the Federated Data Platform (FDP), which could allow it to coopt sensitive data for non-health-related purposes like policing and immigration enforcement.
The report details concerns about Palantir’s involvement in human rights abuses – particularly its cooperation with the Israeli occupation throughout the genocide in Gaza and support of ICE operations in the US. It also highlights obscure procurement processes and risks inherent to the adoption of the FDP, including fears about potential information sharing with US intelligence agencies. Similar concerns have been raised by institutions in Switzerland, while Palantir’s data usage practices have also faced court challenges in Germany.
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Beyond fears that patient data might be used for profiling, the report outlines how long-standing cooperation between Palantir and NHS figures has raised doubts about the legitimacy of mechanisms that allowed it to gain entry into the system in the first place. The briefing notes former British intelligence officers moving to Palantir posts, as well as multiple meetings between Palantir management and government officials, including former and current prime ministers.
This account includes the introduction of Palantir software during the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. “One of the main figures involved in helping Palantir get contracts during the pandemic was the former British Ambassador to Israel, Matthew Gould, who was CEO of NHSX [the health service’s technology division],” the report states. “As CEO, he recommended to Ministers that they use emergency powers to award the contract to Palantir.”
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Based on similar narratives, the report expresses concerns that fully rolling out the FDP could trap the NHS in Palantir’s framework, making the system complicit in human rights abuses and allowing the firm to use NHS experience to penetrate other countries’ healthcare systems. “The experience gained from working with the NHS, both technical, strategic and political, could enable Palantir to improve its services and gain further market access across health systems,” the briefing warns.
However, opposition to Palantir’s NHS involvement remains substantial, as previously reported by People’s Health Dispatch. “As of February 2026, over 47,000 patients have written to their local trust boards complaining about their involvement in the FDP, urging trusts who have begun using it to withdraw, and those who are still considering it not to sign up,” the report emphasizes. Criticism persists in different segments of society, including from health workers’ organizations like the British Medical Association and public services trade unions including Unison.
Despite serious concerns, the report insists there is still time to avert potentially catastrophic consequences. “NHS England can also choose not to extend the national contract with Palantir beyond the initial three-year contract,” the organizations point out, meaning it could be terminated as early as 2027.
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